If you’ve followed the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy for any amount of time, you know there are as many ways to shape a copywriting career as there are copywriters.
Stevi’s story is the perfect example of how building your career in a way that works for you is essential to long-term success.
And what works for you may change. And then change again.
On this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Stevi is sharing how she made the decision to leave a nonprofit job she loved to pursue writing—even with two small children, a mortgage, and a pandemic thrown into the mix.
I’m going to be honest, I have no idea what we’re cracking up about in this photo, but I will say that this entire conversation with Stevi was a complete delight.
She shares how, like many of us!, she bounced around between various jobs to pay the bills, but kept coming back to building a career as a writer (she does have a degree in creative writing after all).
And, what was incredible to hear, was how Stevi and her husband got creative in how they approached their goals, their schedules, and their priorities so they could build their lives in a way that works for them.
Her story really highlights how incredible it is to have a career that allows you to pivot to fit your lifestyle in any given moment.
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Prefer to watch the episode? Hit play below (plus, hit “cc” to toggle on closed captioning!).
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:23] My degree was in creative writing and theology, specifically. I wanted to be a novelist slash youth minister. And I learned pretty quickly that I don’t have a teacher’s bone in my body.
[02:46] I knew I wanted to write, but I didn’t really know what that meant in the moment. I bounced around a little bit, just getting jobs that paid my bills, got me settled.
[04:36] I got a job offer from a nonprofit. It was really well suited for me. All of a sudden being in 2020, having two kids and the pandemic. It wasn’t fitting the needs I had in the moment anymore.
[06:21] I saw Erin’s story about leaving teaching. I wasn’t a teacher, but I was mom of two new baby during a pandemic. And that spoke to me really deeply. And so I watched that video.
[07:16] This was the first time where it just felt like I was hearing from real people who were doing the real thing with real other factors in their lives. This is really something that could happen. I think it was New Year’s Eve. I bought the course and said, all right, I’m gonna do this.
[08:47] I tried to plow through the modules as much as quickly as I could. I started my business in March, I started telling people that I was a copyrighter. That’s when I started like pitching and started reaching out to people and letting people know what I was doing.
[10:24] I watched every resource you had a million times. And I finally said, I think I need to do this. It’s a bit of an investment, but it’s something I have to do. I went back to work. I was working on the business at night. And I had secured a couple of writing project.
[13:15] I’m just worried that if I don’t leave now, I’m never gonna leave. We finished up the busy season. I came back on January 2nd and gave my notice and I left my company in February of 2022.
[15:10] I get overwhelmed pretty easily. So first of all, knowing the first couple years of your business are gonna be a drop in the bucket at some point. I know it feels rough now, but in the grand scheme of things, you’re still in the first year of your business.
[17:25] Since Labor Day of 2022, I’ve been home full time with my kids and then working around their schedule. Which again, as I was alluding to, that’s the beauty of CCA and the beauty of being able to freelance and having this freedom that this has given me more so than the financial freedom.
[24:39] The return on investment comes so much quicker than anybody I think realizes. So why not try it? You’re gonna see your return on investment really quickly and then it’s just another skill in your tool belt
[26:20] I’ve worked with clients in a couple of different fields, but I keep coming back to nonprofit clients. I just always really had a heart for nonprofit work and really gravitated towards it. And so now to be able to work with nonprofit clients and write copy for their mission is the dream.
[35:34] Any advice that you would give to people in that space? Just really figuring out the way that it works for your dynamics because trying to sit a square peg into a round hole is not gonna work. Being open to changing how you have to do things in order to find that balance and find those boundaries.
[47:01] I didn’t have that type of control over my work life and my work life balance and all of that before this. Being paid to write, which is the thing I always said I was gonna do. And now I am. There’s just a lot more ownership over my professional life since that.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“Every resource was there. This is a blueprint. And this looks like something I can do.” – Stevi
“I built slowly, I built up the pace that I needed to keep myself sane and healthy and alive.” – Stevi
“The beauty of CCA, It’s being able to build my schedule around when the kids are home.” – Stevi
“The best trait as a freelancer is when you care. When you care about whatever it is that you’re doing, whoever you’re working with.” – Kate
“Being open to changing how you have to do things in order to find that balance and find those boundaries.” – Stevi
“Everybody’s gonna have different types of help if they have help and different family situations. But I think it’s really helpful to see how it can work out.” – Nicki
“There are more than enough companies to pitch if we actually just look at the things that we encounter on a daily basis.” – Nicki
“The change you go through in your career and your life is such a testament to you taking action and also evaluating what works for you and what works for your family.” – Nicki
Mentioned in the Episode
- Replacing Teaching Income with Copywriting Income in 6 Weeks – Erin’s Story
- This CCA Student Makes 6 Figures…While Living on a Mediterranean Island – Brittany’s Story
- Ep. 136: Copywriting Transformed Her Quality of Life – Amy’s Story
Related Links
- Ep. 47: Raising a Family and Building a Copywriting Business—Peta’s Story
- Ep. 107: Building a Copywriting Business as a Mom – with Kate K, Dorothy & Jen
- Copywriting Lets This Mom Live Life on Her Own Terms
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
